Newer??? Lower ball joint failure

Don't place the pry bar under the tire - place it here. See the movement in the vid, if it's close to that then I'd replace or continue to roll the dice.

https://youtu.be/bu2rQMxXV2M

 

Has that been found to show a different result? It would seem either way would net the same result.

 

Black bolts, red bolts, washers, flanged head, dust boot, what the heck ?

What size are these bolts (thread diameter and pitch) anyone know ?

 

I talked to the PO and he torqued the bolts to 90 ftlbs! He claimed that was the FSM spec. Maybe he got it mixed up with something else, cause that seems extremely high to me, unless the specs are different for the 95-97 Tacomas?

 

No, it's the same across all years depending on the bolts. But none are 90 ft/lbs. That's u-bolt torque spec

 

Oh well he must've mixed up those torque specs. Now I actually have a legitimate worry about the bolts shearing!

 

I mean he might just be misremembering, I find it kind of odd to imagine he remembers what torqued them to unless he's an enthusiast like us in here. I imagine more people than not probably just make them 'gudentite' and call it a day tbh.

 

Idk, he seemed pretty meticulous and was/is a member on here. But yea it seems strange that he would torque it that much, so maybe he is misremembering.

 

the lbj are 10mm dia bolts with a 14mm head, right? 90ft/lb would probably have snapped the heads off during install lol

 

Yeah definitely, I can't see those little bolts taking that much

 

Not knowing the property class (8.8, 9.8, 10.9, 12.9) I would think you'd need to go for the lowest torque value for that size bolt.

 

Nope, but if you're really interested in the various first gen LBJ bolts you can read all about them here -
https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...s-wanted-about-lower-ball-joint-bolts.772506/

Good read and an eye opener thanks to @SpikerEng.

 

They are M10x1.25mm, 35mm long.

https://www.mcmaster.com/95735A635/

Not trying to step on any toes here, but there is more than one way to skin this cat. The most important take-away is to treat your ball joints as a wear items and swap them our regularly like you would your tires or brakes or timing belt and water pump (v6). Some thoughts:

If you are going to run that ball joint boot protector, use a bolt with a washer. Personally, I trashed my boots in favor of using the flanged head, McMaster-Carr bolt I've linked above. I use blue loctite and torque those bolts to 59 ft.lbs and mark them with a paint pen. This is the 3rd set of OEM LBJ I've done this way on 2 vehicles. I install a new set at 90-100K even if they still pass the "play" check.

 

Those McMaster bolts… I remember Leon mentioning these in his testing. Results vary I guess

https://www.tacomaworld.com/threads...-ball-joint-bolts.772506/page-4#post-27990780

 

In regard to using the longer OEM 90119-10933 black bolts, I measured the depth of the blind holes in both my '97 V6 Taco 4x4 OEM knuckles when retrofitting the 43346-60011 LBJ Protectors to my 01/97 Taco in 2021. The blind holes had depth to spare for using the black bolts with or without the LBJ Protectors. If you understand how the Protector attaches to the LBJ, it makes perfect sense. When attaching the LBJ Protector to the LBJ in either possible orientation, only one blind hole in the knuckle is used to attach it. The other blind hole in the knuckle must be capable of accommodating the full length of the black bolt without the extra width of the washer embedded in the Protector (shown below). So don't be afraid of using those black bolts. IMO, Leon's data proved them to be the best OEM LBJ bolt available when torqued to 37 ft./lbs.

 

I still can’t figure out those cases where the OEM LBJs supposedly fail or have too much play after 10,000 miles or less, like in the example I linked above. I’m thinking the black bolts torqued dry to 37 ft lbs might be the ticket.

 

Might be the ticket as to why they fail? Not sure I'm following.

All the failures I've read about, I'm betting a very high % of them haven't been replaced since the recall and/or no checking being done.

You could always go the TC route or use any of the other bolts mentioned. Why we do the work ourselves, right?

 

No I mean the black bolts torqued to 37 dry might be the best solution, like you said earlier.

 

Yeah, I wish I could say with certainty. I base it off the data @SpikerEng churned out plus its the bolt toyota says to use with the dust boot.

I actually had new OE LBJs show up that had rotational play... a little more than I would have liked. Similar to this video, a little firmer but still able to rotate by hand. I ended up ordering another set and they were much better.
https://youtu.be/wQtZJ13DErw

I also think (but can't prove), the more often you separate the LBJ from the steering knuckle the more chance for increased wear you put on that stud. I really want to swap in the TC option in the near future. Feels like we're just playing a bit of russian roulette regardless of the precautions we take.

 

Those are my LBJs in that video.

Old/take off one on the left, new one on the right.